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Gary Neville shares why he worried about Kobbie Mainoo before Manchester United game
Gary Neville has suggested that he was worried about one Manchester United player ahead of the clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday, but admitted to being proven wrong in the draw.
Manchester United fans will have mixed feelings after the 2-2 draw. Erik ten Hag continues to struggle to silence his doubters. But they did manage to put a dent in the Reds’ title chances.
United made the visitors pay for not taking their raft of first-half opportunities. But there was so much chaos in the game, particularly in the middle of the park.
Certainly, one player who was handed a difficult task in the game was Kobbie Mainoo, with Manchester United’s midfield often left exposed.
Mainoo will have better days when it comes to the defensive side of his game. He was tasked with following Alexis Mac Allister, and that often dragged the 18-year-old out of position.
But Mainoo scored a goal Roy Keane labelled ‘absolutely amazing’. It was a stunning turn and finish to put United 2-1 in front midway through the second-half.
It has been a meteoric rise for Mainoo. He went into this season having made just three appearances for Manchester United. But he is now one of the players ten Hag cannot be without.
Gary Neville says he was worried about Kobbie Mainoo before Manchester United draw
There were some concerns about Mainoo getting an England call-up so soon into his career. And it seems that Gary Neville had some worries about how that recognition would impact him upon his return to his club side.
Speaking on , Neville suggested that Mainoo largely proved him wrong against Liverpool.
“I was a bit worried about him actually leading up to this game because I just thought there were signs after the international break where he was under so much scrutiny, in a good way, because of everyone thinking, ‘oh, England have found another midfield player’. I just thought against Brentford and against Chelsea, there were signs, it’s natural when you’re a midfield player, just dipping a little bit, maybe feeling a little bit,” he said.
“The whole thing with England, you’re going to go to a tournament and the expectation, how people have spoken about him, how we speak about him. But today, to produce that moment again, you’ve got to be pretty special to produce a moment like that as a one-off. But in a game like this, against Liverpool, as a young kid, there aren’t many that do that. Honestly, there aren’t many that do that. And he is a fantastic talent.
“He’s playing in a team that lacks any type of organisation in midfield. Him and Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes in there, they’re three really good players obviously individually. But you just look at them and think where’s the cohesion in terms of how they play? It’s mental.
“But he has a great temperament. He takes the ball. He can do most things pretty well, very well. And exciting for Manchester United.”
Teenager passing every test with flying colours so far
It is going to be interesting to see where Mainoo goes from here. On current form, he is one of the players the manager can build Manchester United’s future around.
But in doing so, ten Hag would be neglecting just how young Mainoo is. Manchester United remains one of the world’s biggest clubs. And there are going to be times when the youngster’s form does dip.
How he drags himself out of a rut is going to be one of the next challenges facing Mainoo.
However, based on everything he has shown so far, Mainoo has every tool required to bounce back from the setbacks which will naturally come his way in the years to come.